Slim, But It'll Do
by Plot Bunnie Industries
Summary: Ianto's thoughts after Jack came back. KKBB spoilers, but who hasn't seen that? Not my normal fic. Kinda angsty. Janto beta-ed by theviewfromhere. Now Click that title and start reading!


**Don't dog me for this is the only angst I think I have ever written. I really am trying to get this all down before it's gone. I had a bit of a plot bunnie, and that's what Plot Bunnie Industries is all about, so I must do my duty as a co-founder and write it out. It's going to involve a lot of crying and sobbing on Ianto's part, so you better be prepared. Are the tissues at hand? Good. Then let us begin. **

**I don't own Torchwood, Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, The Doctor or anything affiliated with the Who-verse. Sad, yes, I know.**

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Ianto cried most nights after Captain Harkness left him. He had just lost Jack and gotten him back. Jack had kissed him, and Ianto had thought that meant something was going to blossom in their relationship. He must have been wrong because Jack had just up and left not just Ianto, but the whole team.  
Ianto had to cope with that, which wasn't an easy thing to do.

A year passed and Ianto still cried for his lost Captain.

When everything was put back to normal, and the team finally came back from the Himalayas, Jack still wasn't there.

The blow fish was like any other case when Gwen announced that everyone would be needed in the SUV for a quick case involving an alien.  
Ianto had no idea that his Captain would be coming home. The whole scene flashed by so quickly, Ianto couldn't process words until they were back at the Hub, and listening to Jack finish his story on the 'right kind of Doctor'.

Ianto wanted Jack to take him in his arms and rock the Welshman back to sanity. The only thing that was stopping him was this 'Doctor'. So, Ianto just had to ask.

"Are you going back to him?" Jack's brilliant blue eyes flashed with pain, resentment, love, and, more than anything else, his eyes cried out a apology to Ianto as he said, "No, I came back for you... all of you."

Ianto's heart sped faster with joy as his Captain said this.

John Hart was soon found, and Jack's "partner, in every way" was making Ianto think his chances with Jack were getting slimmer and slimmer.

Ianto watched the CCTV carefully the rest of the day, and when Gwen and Jack were getting cozy in the tunnels, Ianto thought his chances had just left the building and were currently sitting somewhere in Scotland having a pint. Gwen, engaged or not, would gladly give into Jack, and the man seemed to be more than willing to push her to that point. That is, until he saw her ring. The diamond seemed to clear Jack's mind of improper thoughts and effectively stop any plans Jack had had. Ianto smiled to himself when he saw this, and his heart seemed to heal a little at the sight.

The conference with John was less than bearable. Ianto would gladly have shot the Time Agent in the head if he had had the chance to.  
Gwen seemed to be up to making the decisions for Jack, making the latter aggravated. Ianto subtly nodded to the Welshwoman in encouragement at her standing up to their boss.

The reason why Jack put them in the same 'split up' group became clear at the building, when the Captain asked Ianto on a date.  
Ianto almost said no. He knew that the only reason that Jack was asking him was because Gwen had already been snatched up, and Ianto was going to be his fall-back. The tea-boy could deal with that.

So, Ianto took the invitation, hesitantly, because he knew it would be the only one he was gonna get.

John was there to get Jack back, and he knew that after being shoved into the elevator by the man. Ianto, on the trip down to the ground floor, contemplated John's chances of succeeding.

They were slim, but, if he understood anything, Ianto knew that his Captain was anything but predictable.

The look on John's face when he saw Jack walk into the med bay was one of confusion and relief. Ianto thought the relief was from the fact that John didn't want Jack dead, and that killing him just happened to be one of the things that he had to do. The confusion was understood. No one but Jack can survive a 30 story drop and walk into the Hub unharmed.

What Owen was doing as John, Gwen, Tosh and Ianto left the Hub, Ianto was okay with not knowing. Driving in the car with John seemed to be more painful than the blast charge would have been if it went off in the SUV.

Ianto was thankful when Owen came his the rescue with the... whatever it was.

Being blasted into the past was a bit of a shock, and Ianto's mind tried to wrap itself around the time-line that he was now on.

After a while, he gave up. The tenses were evil.

Jack wanted them to get hotel rooms and stay the night there. Owen, Tosh and Gwen had other ideas.

While they went out, Ianto and Jack situated the rooms. The girls got separate rooms and the men had two adjoining rooms. Ianto knew that Owen would shag anything that moved after a night out, so Owen would be getting the room with one bed.

Ianto and Jack sat in their room, the Captain flipping through the channels on the telly, not really looking for anything to watch, just keeping his mind busy.

All of the days events hit Ianto hard at about 4 a.m., when the Welshman woke suddenly from his most recent nightmare. Ianto woke, to find that he was in Jack's arms, with the older man rocking him softly and whispering nothings in his ear.

"Jack." Ianto sobbed.

"Ianto, go back to sleep. You need to rest. Come on, Yan, you can do this." Jack said softly.

"I missed you so much, Jack." Ianto cried.

"I missed you too, Yan. Now, sleep. You need your sleep."

Even in Ianto's half asleep state, he knew that Jack's voice had caught in his throat when he said this, and that warm splashes of what could have been tears came down on Ianto's cheeks before Jack's rocking slowly lulled him back to a soft unconsciousness.

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**So, I hope it was okay.  
Would love to hear from you.  
Thanks, Kates, for beta-ing this.  
R&R please, my lovely readers.  
---Dark Cascade**


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